The Transmission Of Sikh Heritage In The Diaspora

Contributed seminar papers.

Sikh Diaspora: Theory, Agency, and Experience is a collection of essays offering new insights into the diverse experiences of Sikhs beyond the Punjab. Moving beyond migration history and global in their scope, the essays in this volume draw from a range of methodological approaches to engage with diaspora theory, agency, space, social relations, and aesthetics. Rich in substantive content, these essays offer critical reflections on the concept of diaspora, and insight into key features of Sikh experience including memory, citizenship, political engagement, architecture, multiculturalism, gender, literature, oral history, kirtan, economics, and marriage.

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book offers an overview of the Sikh diaspora, exploring the relationship between home and host states and between migrant and indigenous communities. The book considers the implications of history and politics of the Sikh diaspora for nationality, citizenship and sovereignity.; The text should serve as a supplementary text for undergraduates and postgraduates on courses in race, ethnicity and international migration within sociology, politics, international relations, Asian history, and human geography. In particular, it should serve as a core text for Sikh/Punjab courses within Asian studies.

Sikh Heritage, with a foreword by Hardeep Sigh Puri, is a succinct and delightfully photographed glimpse into the community's religion, its ten gurus, its temples, traditional systems of governance, history, architecture, and the famous Golden Temple. This book traces the history of the valour and devotion of the Sikh community, which forms less than 1 per cent of India's one billion population, yet produces over 50 per cent of the country's food reserves. Despite the brutal assaults of history faced by the Sikh community - such as the partition of Punjab - they still maintain the merit of their heritage. Looks at how the thriving Sikh diaspora has spread across the globe; and how they always took the words of the gurus with them wherever they went. This work has captured the relics that have borne witness to the establishment of the Sikh community and identity. Most of these heritage objects associated with the gurus are in private collections or in gurdwaras. A photographic documentation of the Sikh historicity through objects both in time and space, such as the beautifully captured images of Takhats or temporal seats of the Sikhs, portray a unique relationship between the edifice and the Sikhs - thus, each photograph is a story in itself. This new approach aims at the conception of Sikh heritage not only as the sacred masterpieces of the past to be valued and conserved, but also as emblematic and living spaces to be appropriated by the local communities who are the bearers of a rich and active collective memory.

The International Bibliography of Sikh Studies brings together all books, composite works, journal articles, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations, project reports, and electronic resources produced in the field of Sikh Studies until June 2004, making it the most complete and up-to-date reference work in the field today. One of the youngest religions of the world, Sikhism has progressively attracted attention on a global scale in recent decades. An increasing number of scholars is exploring the culture, history, politics, and religion of the Sikhs. The growing interest in Sikh Studies has resulted in an avalanche of literature, which is now for the first time brought together in the International Bibliography of Sikh Studies. This monumental work lists over 10,000 English-language publications under almost 30 subheadings, each representing a subfield in Sikh Studies. The Bibliography contains sections on a wide variety of subjects, such as Sikh gurus, Sikh philosophy, Sikh politics and Sikh religion. Furthermore, the encyclopedia presents an annotated survey of all major scholarly work on Sikhism, and a selective listing of electronic and web-based resources in the field. Author and subject indices are appended for the reader’s convenience.

Compares social life and customs of the Sikhs in India and in the United States.

Bringing South Asian and British imperial history together with recent scholarship on transnationalism and postcolonialism, Tony Ballantyne offers a bold reevaluation of constructions of Sikh identity from the late eighteenth century through the early twenty-first. Ballantyne considers Sikh communities and experiences in Punjab, the rest of South Asia, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world. He charts the shifting, complex, and frequently competing visions of Sikh identity that have been produced in response to the momentous social changes wrought by colonialism and diaspora. In the process, he argues that Sikh studies must expand its scope to take into account not only how Sikhism is figured in religious and political texts but also on the battlefields of Asia and Europe, in the streets of Singapore and Southall, and in the nightclubs of New Delhi and Newcastle. Constructing an expansive historical archive, Ballantyne draws on film, sculpture, fiction, and Web sites, as well as private papers, government records, journalism, and travel narratives. He proceeds from a critique of recent historiography on the development of Sikhism to an analysis of how Sikh identity changed over the course of the long nineteenth century. Ballantyne goes on to offer a reading of the contested interpretations of the life of Dalip Singh, the last Maharaja of Punjab. He concludes with an exploration of bhangra, a traditional form of Punjabi dance that diasporic artists have transformed into a globally popular music style. Much of bhangra’s recent evolution stems from encounters of the Sikh and Afro-Caribbean communities, particularly in the United Kingdom. Ballantyne contends that such cross-cultural encounters are central in defining Sikh identity both in Punjab and the diaspora.

The Asia Pacific region is a vital and under-recognized home for the Sikh diaspora. Before 1947, most Sikhs migrated East. In addition to the commonly known destinations, the author also examines lesser known cases of Sikh migration to China, Korea, Japan and the Philippines. The book covers various aspects of the diaspora including the history of migration relating to the British Indian Army police force. The British gave preference in recruiting Sikhs, and encouraged them to build gurdwaras and supported them to keep their Sikh identity. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka